1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modular apparatus to encode media, including documents such as envelopes for machine assisted sorting. More particularly, the present invention relates to a modular encoding apparatus having a rotatable head and two parallel document print stations, which apparatus is automatically capable of printing a designated code on either side of a document.
2. Brief Description of the Background Art
Indexing devices are well known in the art, as are more specific structures for document or mail sorting stations. Practical sorting stations have been described in Goodell et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,285 and Henig, U.S. Pat. No. 3,144,948. Goodell discloses an apparatus that records sorting information temporarily in magnetic tape storage. More commonly found devices mark pertinent information in codes on mail envelopes indirectly, such as Brenner et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,751 which encodes pulsed magnetic changes on film tape, or directly, such as the disclosures of Rabinow, U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,925; Fischer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,261 and Heaney et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,368,672. Fischer discloses a high speed, large scale letter feeder to supply conventional sorting stations, which may include conveyor belt means to enable an operator to read an envelope to be encoded, a keyboard to input coding information, and a printer to encode appropriate dot matrices on the backside of the envelope. Heaney et al includes a traditional letter feeder, conveyor means and keyboard elements, and encodes information as Brenner et al. with pulsed magnetic changes applied to magnetic material sprayed on envelopes. These magnetic codes are then copied by a reading head and used to shunt envelopes to appropriate storage bins. The operator of this device has manual control regarding the production pace.
However, prior art encoding machines are replete with inconveniences. For example, it is often desirable to imprint a code on one side of an envelope or the other, or both, depending primarily when the code will be used. For example, large corporations often wish to have mail encoded for internal routing purposes, and special departmental encoding is desired to be applied on the reverse side of an envelope. Naturally, the Post Office has great need for a machine capable of printing an automatically readable code on the front side of an envelope representing a Zip Code. It would be of great usefulness to have an apparatus with the capacity to apply a code to both sides of an envelope. However, no previously available encoding machine is designed to do so and none is capable of being adapted to do so without considerable expense. Additionally, although all mail facilities are not uniform, no encoding machine system discovered is capable of reversing document flow direction, save by literally turning the machine around, which of course, turns the operator around as well. Having a single encoding desk design capable of both reversing flow direction and reversing print orientation would obviously result in significant manufacturing and tooling cost savings to any producer, as well as tremendously reducing maintenance levels of part supplies needed in support thereof. This of course lowers costs to all parties concerned, including the consumer.